text:
By SCOTT F. PARKER Special to the Star Tribune
September 21, 2018 — 10:31am
At 37, confronting the dullness of adult life, philosopher John Kaag looks for inspiration in the life and writing of one of the heroes of his youth, Friedrich Nietzsche. Twenty years before, Kaag had been into Nietzsche in the way young people can be into writers and artists: utterly.
The summer before his senior year of college, Kaag traveled to Basel, where Nietzsche had been a professor, and from there retraced Nietzsche's escape into the Alps. When he arrived in Sils-Maria, Kaag stayed in the Nietzsche-Haus, where Nietzsche had lived for years and wrote some of his best-known books, and began slipping into an inspired madness. "Evening after evening, wide awake, no longer even hungry, I returned to my desk, to my Zarathustra. At the first sign of light I'd make my way to the trails behind the Haus and do my best to embody him."
Sleep-deprived and starving, the young Kaag stood over a chasm and contemplated leaping. He would survive his 20s and 30s in part by shifting his attention to more tempered philosophers. But when his daughter asks about the frostbite scars the Alps left on Kaag's ear, his wife ("a philosopher who loathed Nietzsche") suggests he revisit Nietzsche.
With age on his side, Kaag is expected to withstand the potency of Nietzsche that looms over younger readers. But Nietzsche demands to be taken personally. And the older Kaag shares with his younger self the desire to see himself in Nietzsche (as well as Zarathustra). He has himself in mind, too, when he writes about Schopenhauer, "He could have easily followed his parent to the grave, but instead he, like Nietzsche, like many fatherless sons, decided to dedicate himself to the fathers of philosophy."
Kaag's return to Nietzsche's writings culminates in a family trip to Sils-Maria. There, Kaag reverts to the self-destructive behavior of his youth and finds himself stretched between full immersion in all things Nietzschean and his commitments to his family. This struggle is where much of the book's narrative tension lies. Kaag maintains that tension carefully to allow for a parallel biography and insightful reading of Nietzsche. Even readers disinclined toward philosophy will be engaged by the philosopher as Kaag presents him.
But while the book serves as an entry point to Nietzsche's writing, its real success is as an embodiment of one of his core ideas — and one that you needn't have read his works to appreciate: the imperative of becoming who you are. Kaag takes this challenge seriously and makes a sincere go at meeting it.
Hiking With Nietzsche, by John Kaag
Call it philosophy. Call it memoir. This is a book with verve. Read it at the risk of being drawn in to your own becoming.
Scott F. Parker is a writer in Montana. His essay collection, "A Way Home," was recently published by Kelson Books.
Hiking With Nietzsche
By: John Kaag.
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 255 pages, $26.
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text:
THE HISTORY OF THE RISE, PROGRESS, AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF ...
By William Gordon
sallies, and general Washington's hints to-'him, pr 154—the ge>
neral writes to Dr. Franklin, p. 155. The Virginia house of de-»:
legates resolve respecting Gates, p. T56. The returns of Greene's-
force in South-Carolina', and his concluding on a partisan war,"
ibid—his letter to lord Cornwaltis, p. 151—he divides his force^
p. 158. Lieut, col. Tarleton is detached after gen. Morgan, by
whom he is defeated, p. 160. Lord Cornwallis pursues Mor-
gan, p. 163. Gen. Greene arrives, and takes the command of
Morgan's troops, p. 164. The Americans retreat, and safely
cross the Dan into Virginia, though pursued by his hordship
with the utmost eagerness, ibid. Greene re-crosses tire Dan,
p. 169. Gen. Pickens and lieut. col. Lee cut in pieces a large
body of royalists, p. 110. Cornwallis attempts to surprise ther
American light-infantry, p. 171. Greene determines upon fight-
ing his lordship, p. 173- His lordship attacks and defeats him,
ibid. His lordship retreats toward Cross-Creek, and Greene
pursues him to Deep-River, p. 175. General Arnold sails for,
and lands in Virginia, p. 177. General Washington lays a plan,
for catching him, ibid. Sir H. Clinton sends general Philips,
with more troops, to take the command in Virginia, p. 479. Acts
of congress, ibid. Mr. Robert Morris chosen financier, p. 180.
The Maryland delegates empowered to subscribe the confeder-
ation, which is thereby completed, ibid. General Washington
gives his decisive opinion upon the necessity of a timely and
powerful aid from France, p. 131.
Letter VII. P. 132—188.
The attempt of the baron de RuHccourt on the Isle of Jersey,
frustrated by major Pierson,p. 182. Lord George Gordon tried
and acquitted, p. 184. Gibraltar relieved by the British fleet'
under admiral Darby, ibid. The Spaniards commence a heavy
fire upon the fortress, which is returned, ibid. Sir George kod-
ney and gen. Vaughan, take St. Eustatia, St. Martin and Saba^
p. 185. The property in St. Eustatia. confiscated, and many of
the inhabitants reduced to penury, and transported to St. Kitts,
p. 186. Demarara and Issequibo surrender, p. 187.
Letter VIII. P. I8S—2S0.
General Greene leaves North-Carolina, and marches towardr
Camden, p. 188—is defeated by lord Rawdon at Hobkirk's hill,
p. 189—his letter to Rawdon, p. 191—to governor Reed of
Pennsylvania, p. 192. Lord Rawdon evacuates Camden, p. 194.
The British posts are taken by the Americans in quick succession,
ibid. Greene marches against the garrison at Ninety-Six, p. 195
>—is obliged to abandon the siege, and is pursued by Rawdon,
p. 198. He pursues his lordship, and offers him battle, ibid.
Greene's
Qrecpc's letter concerning Gates, p. 1,99. The miseries attend-
ing the war in South-Carolina, p. 200. Extracts from letters
of Icrd George Germaine, p. 201. The affair of colonel Hayne,
who is executed by the joint order of lord Ravvdon and colonel
Balfour, p. 202. The operations in "Virginia, under generals
Philips and Arnold, p. 205. The marquis de la Fayette makes
a rapid march from Baltimore to Richmond, p, 206. Lord
Cornwallis joins the British in Virginia, ibid—is disconcerted in
his attempts to crush the marquis, p. 207. The marquis joined:
by the Pennsylvania line, under general Wayne, p. 209* His
lordship commences a retrogade movement, p. 210. Wayne at-
tacks his lordship, and extricates himself by means of it, p. 211.
General Washington's army in want of provision, p. 212. Count
de Barras arrives at Boston to take the command of the French
squadron at Newport, p. 213. Washington meets Rochambeau
at Weathersfield, ibid. Washington's letters intercepted and con-
veyed to New-York, p. 214. The French troops join the A-
rnericans under Washington, p. 215. The plan of operations
changed, and the allied troops march for Philadelphia, p. 216.
The behavior of the trench troops while at Newport, and on
their march to join gen. Washington, p. 218. Don Galvez com-
pletes the conquest of West-Florida, p. 219. Sir Samuel Mood
and couiit de Grasse engage, p. 220. Tobago taken-by the
French, p. 222. A subscription for a loan opened by congress
for the support of the South-Carolinians and Georgians driven
from their country by the enemy, p. 223. The heroism of the
whig ladies in Charleston, p.. 224. The treatment of the gen-
tlemen removed from Charleston to St. Augustine, p. 225—
o( the continental officers, p. 226. Complaints qf severities ex-
ercised toward the American marine prisoners at New-York,
ibid. The particular evils produced by the paper currency, p. 228.
—the extinction of it occasions no convulsion, p. 229. A num-
ber of the ships from Statia taken by the French, ibid.
Letter IX. P. 250—239,
Commodore Johnstone is attacked by Mr. de Suffrein, p. 231.
1—the commodore takes several large Dutch East-india ships,
p. 232. Admirals Hyde Parker and Zoutman engage on the
Dogger-Bank, p. 233. Minorca is attacked by the Spaniards and
French, p. 231. The combined fleets cruise at the mouth .;f
the British channel, ibid. Extracts from some letters to Mr.
Vergennes, p. 239. » ,
Letter X 239—270.
Acts of congress, p. 240. General Greene demands from the
British commanders the reasons for the execution of Hayne, BaU
four's.
jour's answer, and Greene's'reply,; ibid. Greene engages Ifiru
«oJ. Stewart-at the Eutaw Springs, p*. 2*2. Stewart abandoi
Eutaw, p.. 244.-Gov..Rutledge retaliates for Balfour's conduc
p. 245. A-spirit of-mutiny among Greene's troops, ibid—his le
ter to gen. Gould,- p. 246* He inarches toward Dorchester, ar,
by his-manoeuvres induces the British garrison to abandon tr
place, p*-24,8<- Gen. Pickins expedition against the Cherokee
ibid. Arnold's enterprise against New-London, p. 248»- De Ea
ras sails from Rhode-Island, p. 250»- Sir Samuel Hood arrives:
Sandy-Hook, ibid. De Grasse arrives in the Chesapeake, and ei
gages adm. Graves, p. 25 H De Barras arrives in the Chesapeaki
pi 252. Lord1 Cornwaliis repairs to York-town and Glouceste
p. 253. The allied troops arrive at the Head of Elk,p. 254—joi
the troops under the marquis de la Fayette,, p. 255—march an
invest York-town, ibidl- Washington's letter to de Grasse, zkit
The trenches opened by the combined armies before Yprk-towi
p. 257. A capitulation settled, and the posts of York-town an
Gloucester surrendered, p. 260. The British fleet and army de:
tined for the relief of lord Cornwaliis, arrive off Chesapeak
after his surrender, and therefore return, p. 261. De Grass
sails for the West-Indies, p. 262. Acts of congress on their heai
ing of the reduction of the British army, p. 263. They atten
at the Roman Catholic chapel, and hear the chaplain to the-err
feissy, p. 264.—their resolve respecting marquis de la Fayette-
the president addresses gen. Washingtorjyp. 268. The subscril
ers to the Bank of North-America incorporated, Hid. Imprc
per conduct toward the British prisoners, p. 269. Gov. Rui
iedge exercises his authority afresh in South-Carolina, ibid.
Letter XI. P. 270—290.
Mr. Jay delivers in propositions relative to an intended treat
with Spain, p. 270. The king opens the session of parliamen
p.272. The intended address, remonstrance and petition of th
city of London, p. 273. Mr. Laurens discharged from his con
finementin the Tower, p. 275. Statia surprised by themarqui
<le Bouiile, ibid. Adm. Kempenfelt's successful cruise, p. 271
The reduction of Minorca, p. 278. Gen. Conway's motions
gainst continuing the war in America, p. 281. A new admini
stration formed, p. 282. St. Kitt's attacked and taken by th
French, p. 283. Mr. J. Adams succeeds in his applications to th
States-General, and is acknowledged as the American plenipc
tentiary, p. 287. His imperial majesty favors the rights of con
science. p, 289'. - • ■ .'
Letter XII. P. 290—299v ^
Communications from the French minister plenipotentiary ti
congress, p. 291. The execution of capt. Huddy by the New
York;
Tork refugees, p. 292. Letters to gov. Hancock from the corn-
anaruler in chief and the financier, p. 294. Gen. Greene's epis-
tolary communications, p. .29,5.
Letter XIII. P. 299—314.
The affairs of Ireland, p. 299. Transactions in the British.
parliament, p. 302. .East-India news, p. 303. Amiral Bar-
rington's successful cruise, p. 304. Sir George Rodney and
count de Grasse in the West-Indies, p. 305. They engage,
p. 306. De Grasse is defeated and taken, p. 309. The corr-
■bined fleets in Europe masters of the sea, p. 312. The loss of
adm. Kempenfelt and the Royal George, p. 313. East-India
news,p._3l.4.
L E T T % It XIV. P. 315—334-
The steps taken by gen. Washington for retaliating the death
«Fcapt. Huddy, p. 315. The trial of capt. Lippincott upon the
occasion, p. 316. ;He is acquitted, p. 317- The whole affair
referred to 'congress^ p^ 318. Capt, Asgill liberated, p. 319.
The necessity of peace for the United States of America, ibid.
The New-York loyalists in the greatest confusion on hearing of
the negociations for peace, p. 321- Acts of congress, p. 322.
■Gen. Wayne's operations in Georgia, p. 324 Savannah eva~
cuated by the British, p. 325. Gen. Leslie sends out parties
from Charleston to procure provisions, p. 326. Lieut, colonel
Laurens mortally wounded in opposing one of the parties, ibid.
Charleston evacuated by the British, ,p. 327. The death and
character of gen. Lee, p. 328. An account of the Moravian
Jndians, and the massacre of many of (hem by a number of A-
jncricans, ,p. 330. The Indians defeat col. Crawford and his
farty, and put numbers of them to death, p. 332. Honorary
adges of distinction established by gen. Washington, ibid. The
JFrench troops march to Boston, and from thence are conveyed
■hy the French fleet to the West-Indies, p. 333.
Letter. XV. P. 335—351.
The hostile preparations of the Spaniards for the reduction of
'Gibraltar, p. 335. The grand attack upon the fortress, p. 343.
.Lord Howe relieves the garrison and returns home, p. 343.—■
The negociations for peace carrying on at Paris, p. 344- A
treaty of amityand commerce between Holland and the United
States, p. 345. Copy of a letter to count de Vergenflcs, ibid.
Mr. Jay's apprehensions as to the intentions of French court
p. 347. The negociations continued, and provisional articles
signed between the American and British commissioners, p. 343.
The loss of British men of war by a storm, p. 351.
r.. r- Let-
Letter XVI. P. 352—358.
Mr. Dana's application to the Russian minister at Peteisburgh,
p. 352. East-India news, ibid. Debates in the British parlia-
ment upon the preliminary articles of peace, p. 355. The de^-
finitive treaty signed, p. 3'56. Air-balloons, ibid.
Letter XVII. P. 358—369.
The address of the American officers to congress, p. 3 58—•
The design of throwing the American army into a paroxism of
rage, prevented, p. 35y. Congress receive the account of a ge-
neral peace, p. 362. The provisional articles, ibid. A confer-
ence between gen. Washington and Sir Guy Carleton, p. 367.
The general addresses a circular letter to the governors and pre-
sident of the United States, p. 369.
Letter XVIII. P. 370—39^.
A mutiny among the American soldiers at Philadelphia, p.
370. An equestrian statue of gem Washington to be erected, p.
371. The general waits upon congress, p. 372. The treaty
of amity and commerce between Sweden and the United States,
ibid. A deputation of quakers wait upon congress, p. 373. Acts
of congress, p. 374. The Dutch ambassador has a public au-
dience, ibid. General Washington's farewell orders to the ar-
mies of the United States, p. 375. Sir Guy Carleton receives
his final orders for evacuating New-York, ibid. The city eva-
cuated, p. 377. General Washington takes his leave of the
continental officers, ibid—delivers in his accounts to the Ameri-
can comptroller, p. 378—arrives at Annapolis and resigns his
commission, p. 379. The definitive treaty between Great-
Britain and the United States, received by congress, p. 382.
The society of the Cincinnati, p. 383. Encroachments upon
liberty by the Massachusetts people and general court, p. 386.
Certain particulars relating to the war, p. 388. Some strictures
respecting his excellency George Washington and the honorable
Nathaniel Greene, p. 391. Some account of the respective
constitutions of the United States, p. 393.
Extracts from the Virginia act for establishing religious free-
dom, p. 399. The constitution of the United States of Ame-
rica, p. 401.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I always think working with a real estate mortgage professional is critical when making a good home financing decision. Timing is everything when refinancing a Perth home. Therefore, I have provided you with an easy to follow form so you can receive answers to your questions. Please fill out the short form below with any questions you may have regarding Perth real estate refinancing, Perth home buying, or related mortgage needs.


Former Big Brother Naija 2018 Housemate Anto, on Monday, uploaded a new captivating photo of herself rocking a long revealing gown.
In her caption, the ex-BBNaija housemate who is perceived to be quiet got her fans shocked with her caption which informed her fans what to expect from her in 2019.
Anto is a two-time former housemate and semi finalist of the BBnaija reality show. Her full name is Munirat Antoinette Lecky. Before Big Brother, she served as the Head of Operations, Continental Basketball League.
She was born and raised in the United States. She came back to Nigeria for the first time at the age of 20 because of the job. Though a male-dominated industry, Anto describes it as her "dream job".


text:
HOMENRLSTATE-OF-ORIGIN
The image that's infuriated QLD and could force Maroons great's Origin revival
Jarome Luai gives it to Felise Kaufusi during Origin I in Townsville.Source: Supplied
Simon Brunsdon from Fox Sports@simonbrunsdon
There's one image from the State of Origin opener which has reportedly infuriated a number of Queensland greats, and could force the revival of Will Chambers' Maroons career.
Following the thumping 50-6 NSW victory on Wednesday night, the NRL's official Twitter account posted a number of action photos from the game.
Among them was one of Blues debutant Jarome Luai standing over experienced Queensland forward Felise Kaufusi.
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Jul 14 8:10pm AEST
Luai appears to be yelling at Kaufusi as his opponent lies on the ground.
Now, The Australian journalist Brent Read says many Maroons have grabbed hold of that photo and are using it to fire up ahead of Origin II at Suncorp Stadium on June 27.
"There's an image doing the rounds at the moment, former Queensland players caught onto it, it was on social media, the NRL put it up," Read told Triple M radio on Saturday.
"It's an image of Jarome Luai standing over Felise Kaufusi, basically screaming. I don't know if he's berating him.
"It's done the rounds with a few of the old boys and they are not happy about it, suggesting this is the arrogance of NSW."
The Blues were last year criticised for not remonstrating with Maroons enforcer Jai Arrow when he dumped an unconscious James Tedesco onto the turf.
They were clearly told to up the aggression this year and Luai himself was involved in a number of small incidents. He is a master at getting under the skin of opposition players.
The Maroons didn't give much back and that's why Read believes 33-year-old Chambers will come into calculations for game two.
Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!
Chambers has played 13 games for Queensland but it was assumed his Origin days were over, having only returned to the NRL this year through a lifeline with Cronulla.
"Centre wise, (Mark Geyer) mentioned Will Chambers there, it's probably not a bad shout," Read said.
"I know he's only been back about a month but he's aggressive, he gets in your face.
"You've got Jarome Luai standing over the top of Felise Kaufusi just giving it to him.
"So Will Chambers gives you a bit of that fire, a bit of that brimstone. Provided Will would be willing to come back it's probably not a bad shout."
Queensland will also welcome back prop Josh Papalii, while Kalyn Ponga is also racing the injury clock to be fit in time.


text:
Q: Showing $f(x,y)$ satisfies the Lipschitz condition with respect to $y$ In order to prove that a certain ODE has a unique solution, I want to show that the function $f(x,y)=x\sin |y|-(x^2-2) \arctan y$ satisfies the Lipschitz condition with respect to $y$.
My attempt: Let $D=(\alpha,\beta)\times(-\infty,\infty)$ , $\alpha<\beta$. We need to show that there exists $L$ such that $|f(x,y_1)-f(x,y_2)|\leq L |y_1-y_2|$ holds for all $(x,y_1)$ and $(x,y_2)$ in $D$.
$$|f(x,y_1)-f(x,y_2)|=|x\sin |y_1|-(x^2-2)\arctan y_1-x\sin|y_2|+(x^2-2)\arctan y_2|\\\leq |x| |\sin|y_1|-\sin|y_2||+|x^2-2| |\arctan y_1 - \arctan y_2|\leq \\ \leq 2 |x| \left |\sin \left(\frac{|y_1|-|y_2|}{2} \right) \right |\left |\cos \left(\frac{|y_1|+|y_2|}{2} \right) \right |+|x^2-2| |\arctan y_1 - \arctan y_2|\leq \\ \leq |x| |y_1 - y_2| + |x^2-2| |\arctan y_1 - \arctan y_2|\leq |x| |y_1 - y_2| + |x^2-2| |\arctan y_1 - \arctan y_2|$$
The problem is with the $|x^2-2| |\arctan y_1 - \arctan y_2|$ term. I can't think of a way to get a proper bound for it, that is something like $|x^2-2| |\arctan y_1 - \arctan y_2|\leq f(x) |y_1-y_2|$. Any suggestions?

A: In general, it is better to divide the problem into simpler parts. I think these two statements will help:

*

*If $f$ and $g$ are Lipschitz, then $h=\alpha f+\beta g$ with $\alpha,\beta\in\mathbb R$ is also Lipschitz. This is evident from the triangle inequality:
$$\begin{align}
\lVert h(x_1)-h(x_2)\rVert&= \lVert\alpha f(x_1)+\beta g(x_1)-\left(\alpha f(x_2)+\beta g(x_2)\right)\rVert \\
 & = \lVert\alpha\left(f(x_1)-f(x_2)\right)+\beta\left(g(x_1)-g(x_2)\right)\rVert \\
 & \le |\alpha|\cdot\lVert f(x_1)-f(x_2)\rVert+|\beta|\cdot\lVert g(x_1)-g(x_2)\rVert
\end{align}$$

*If $g$ is analytical and $\lVert g'(x)\rVert\le L$ for all $x$, then $g$ is Lipschitz (see here, the first sentence).

To show that $f(x,y)=x\sin{|y|}-(x^2-2)\arctan{y}$ is Lipschitz with respect to $y$, first note that since we are only concerned about $y$, then $x$ can be set fixed. We also know that the $\arctan{y}$ is analytical on $\mathbb R$ and its derivative, $\frac{1}{1+y^2}$ is always positive and has a maximum at $y=0$.
It seems we only need to show that $\sin{|y|}$ is Lipshitz. The sine is an odd function, i.e. $\sin{|y|}=|\sin{y}|$. In this other post on MathSE, it has been shown that $|\sin|$ is Lipschitz.

A: Alternative method:
Since $\arctan $ is differentiable, by MVT there exist $y_0$ between $y_1,y_2$ such that
$$
\left|\frac{\arctan y_1 - \arctan y_2}{y_1 - y_2} \right| \ \leq \ \arctan'y_0 \ = \ \frac{1}{1+y_0^2} \ \leq \ 1
$$

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Playing with it is great fun, and I've been experimenting with it for a while. The most important caveat about 100,000 Stars is that you need to run it in Chrome. It's from the Chrome Experiment team, and it uses imagery and data from NASA and ESA, but the majority of what you are seeing are artist's renditions.
But if you just want to zoom in, you can see the closest stars to us. The Sun is in the middle, and if you zoom in even further, you'll see the Oort Cloud. Keep zooming in to find the planetary orbits (I was struck by how much zooming had to be done to get to the planets, giving a sense of scale).
It includes some nifty spacey-like music (provided by Sam Hulick, who video game fans may recognize as a composer for the popular space adventure series, Mass Effect) but if you'd rather explore in silence, hit your mute button.


Dustforce is a Bomb/Defuse scenario that aims to provide similar game-play to Dust2 in both public games and organised clan matches. However, Dustforce contains more opportunities for teams to flank each other and players will need to be on their guard at all times.
Dustforce is a remake of one of my Counter-Strike 1.6 maps called "WildDust" (screenshots on the Level Design Legacy page). The visuals in Dustforce are similar to Dust and Dust2 but with a slightly cleaner and cooler aesthetic. I completed work on this map while working as a game server administrator for the now-defunct GoBLAM.com and this map contains a hidden GoBLAM advertisement.


text:
Blog: Movies, TV
In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the wizard Saruman turns to the dark side. He tells his old pal, Gandalf, that the evil lord Sauron is just too powerful to fight. "We must join with him, Gandalf," he says in Director Peter Jackson's 2001 film, The Fellowship of the Ring. "We must join with Sauron. It would be wise, my friend."
"Tell me, old friend," Gandalf retorts. "When did Saruman the Wise abandon reason for madness?"
I had the same thought when I heard that Amazon, for its wildly expensive Lord of the Rings series (scheduled for a 2021 release), had hired an "intimacy coordinator" and tossed out a casting call saying that actors "must be comfortable with nudity".
My first thought: Argh. My second: Why?
It's not as if there's a lot of nudity in Tolkien's original works. In fact, there's none. The Lord of the Rings is about as un-sexy a series as you're likely to read. (Battles? Tons. Bedroom dalliances? Zip.) Why, when Jackson turned his attention to Tolkien's prequel, The Hobbit, he had to create a whole new female character (Tauriel) and conjure up a love triangle out of nowhere.
That little twist of Jackson's was just one of many reasons why Tolkien fans mostly hated the bloated Hobbit film trilogy. (The rest of the world wasn't that fond of the additions, either.) Pretty sure that adding gratuitous sex scenes to Tolkien's classic work won't thrill Tolkien purists—purists whom you'd think Amazon is counting on to watch.
It's a particularly strange decision, given that the success of Hollywood's most successful franchises have been driven not by "improving" the source material, but by honoring it. Jackson earned raves (along with 17 Oscars) for his original Lord of the Rings series. Why? Because he was a Tolkien geek himself. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is shepherded by Kevin Feige, who loved the comics growing up and wanted to do his heroes justice on the big screen.
When you look at the cinematic trash heap, lots of it happen to be movies based on beloved source material that directors tried to "improve."
But, of course, Amazon's sexier take on the trilogy doesn't just threaten to turn off Tolkien geeks. It's messing with families—many of them Christian families—who would normally love nothing more than to get together and watch an epic tale of good and evil, wizards and hobbits.
Some of Plugged In's constituents recoil from most any movie or television show involving magic, but many make an exception for Lord of the Rings. Tolkien, a fervent Catholic, used his magical world to create a deeply resonant, faith-adjacent myth that explores powerful themes and reinforce strong lessons on how one should live.
But let's face it: You don't need to be a person of faith to appreciate Tolkien's story. Many parents from all sorts of backgrounds were excited to watch Jackson's LOTR trilogy with their kids when they were old enough to deal with the violence. I know families who set aside time each year to re-watch the whole series.
But Amazon seems determined to shut out these families.
In fact, it doesn't feel like Amazon is out to make a real Lord of the Rings series at all. I suspect that it wants to make Game of Thrones again.
I understand, superficially, the impulse. Game of Thrones was the last genuine "must-watch" show on television in this fragmented age—a ratings phenomenon for HBO. And as a sprawling, fantasy story, Game of Thrones had its merits. The show scored 57 Emmys during its run.
But the books that the show was based on, written by George R.R. Martin, were designed as kind of a counterpoint to Tolkien's classic work: Bleaker. Grittier. Sexier. The content was baked into the story from the get-go. And while it was one of the most problematic, content-riddled shows on TV during its run, at least supporters could point back to the books and say, "See? That's where all that sleeze came from."
I'd be very excited to watch a Lord of the Rings series—in part because it's not Game of Thrones. The idea of injecting the seamy world of Westeros into classic Middle Earth isn't just incredibly disappointing, but absolutely mystifying.
Here's hoping that Amazon will think better of pushing nudity into Tolkien's universe—for its own sake as much as ours. Middle Earth has plenty of room for dwarves and elves, orcs and hobbits. But it is no place for an intimacy coordinator.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He's written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He's married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
More by Paul Asay
Bea on Dementia is Having a Cinematic Moment: What Christian Families Can Take Away From It
Chad on Dementia is Having a Cinematic Moment: What Christian Families Can Take Away From It
Shelley on Dementia is Having a Cinematic Moment: What Christian Families Can Take Away From It
Rhoda on Dementia is Having a Cinematic Moment: What Christian Families Can Take Away From It
seraph_unsung on The Plugged In Show, Episode 59: My Kid Asked for a Facebook Account and You Won't BELIEVE What Happened Next!
Nameless says:
-One thing's for sure. Tolkien purists will be set to storm Amazon like it was Helm's Deep if they do this. Can't say I blame them. Not every story needs to inject nudity into it. Heck, I'd say no story does.
It just goes to show how far this world has gone. What a shame. But we can take comfort in knowing it will all be over soon.
seraph_unsung says:
-You sound very confident, both on your opinion on nudity and on your conviction that "it will all be over soon." Though I could really hardly think of a less necessary story for nudity (husband/wife or even war-related) than The Lord of the Rings, it's not the end of the world figuratively or, in light of this comment, literally.
-Just take a look at the world around us and tell me it's not the end of days out here. I mean, this is just the dress rehearsal.
As for The Lord of the Rings show mentioned, shows these days have been nothing but a cesspool of depravity, and it just goes to show how far we've fallen. No wonder we're dealing with endless war, disease, and chaos. God's getting fed up with all of us, and He's about ready to let us all have it for abandoning Him and His principles.
And I make no apologies for saying so either.
-Nameless: Yes, each of us will inevitably perish and for us, it will be over. As for the entire world being over… well, people have been saying that for thousands of years, it has not happened yet, and things are no worse in 2020 than they were in the Middle Ages when the Black Plague ravaged Europe and killed hundreds of thousands of people. Or when Rome was the "one world order" that controlled the world. 😉
OP: Are we sure this casting call is for the Tolkien series (I hate to call it LotR, since it's not LotR, it's a prequel)? I read the article on TheOneRing and they said Amazon has a lot of shows in progress at the moment, so it's not a certainty, although it's the only show filming in NZ at the moment. I'm also wondering how much artistic control the Tolkien Estate has, because I know they wouldn't sign off on that. And I know Christopher was angry about all the changes made to The Hobbit, but since his death I'm not sure who has the last say anymore.
Even so, I hate to hear this. Just once, I'd love a show on Amazon Prime to be PG/PG14 instead of MA.
Achan says:
-It could be to show us where the Uruk Hai really came from.
James Brewer says:
– Is there someone we could contact at Amazon to try and stop it before it's too late
EllieG says:
– The addition of nudity and gratuitous content would be really disappointing to me. I and my siblings love LOTR and would be greatly saddened if we were unable to watch the TV series because of such content.
I looked around, and there's a petition on Change dot org headed by J.S. Clingman asking Amazon to stay true to Tolkien's works.
I would hope that Tolkien's fans would take this opportunity to let Amazon know their thoughts and wishes on the subject.
I'll add the link, hopefully it is allowed. Not sure what PluggedIn's policy is.
http://chng.it/RvJvjBwBWz
-I am from one of those families you mention who watch the movies together. I have read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings to my kids. They love it. I will be so disappointed if Amazon take this direction. Keep a broad audience. Let the young and old fall in love with Middle Earth, as the movies and books did and do so.
The Magnificent Penman says:
-Hmm, nothing less than what I expected. Though, I thought I should leave this here…
"Po-Ta-Toes!"
-Samwise Gamgee
-I really hope that they don't have nudity. There is no reason to do this. I had hoped that the Amazon Lord of the Rings series would have time to tell parts of the story that Peter Jackson cut to extend the battles, but it sounds like from this that they just want to push the ratings.
I'll still hold out hope that they won't do it or that they'll have a broadcast tv version. One of my favorite sci-fi shows apparently had nudity in the first episode, but the producers, directors, actors etc. decided that it set the wrong tone so they cut it out… and it came to broadcast tv, which is where I found it. Hopefully, the Amazon Lord of the Rings team will fall in love with the books and keep the series in the same vein as the books.
The Kenosha Kid says:
-I'd be careful with this. The source is a fansite. Don't be too quick to draw conclusions until the rumors are confirmed (biggest lesson of the 21st century).
If it's true, nudity would indeed be a departure from Tolkien's vision. LOTR was curiously devoid of sexuality and (for the most part) money. I always saw that as a flaw, since it's hard to create a plausible fantasy world that lacks two of the primary motivators for human behavior. Lots of people saw the George R.R. Martin books as a welcome corrective that gave fantasy a more realistic psychological underpinning.
But Tolkien's fans appreciate the squeaky-cleanness, so we'll see if Amazon plays it safe.
If it's true, it would indeed be a departure from Tolkien's vision. LOTR was curiously devoid of "adult situations" and (for the most part) money. I always saw that as a flaw, since it's hard to create a plausible fantasy world that lacks two of the primary motivators for human behavior. Lots of people saw the George R.R. Martin books as a welcome corrective that gave fantasy a more realistic psychological underpinning.
-They had better play it safe.
-I have to agree with Paul- the "adult situations"- I put it in quotations because in reality it's teenager situations- are not a part of Tolkien's vision. We're not in the garden of Eden people. We're fallen and you all know it.
Anyway, that was a tangent. But the main points are a) we should have respect for Tolkien's vision, especially when we're making money off of it and b) the reason why LOTR is so popular is because of the validity of Tolkien's vision. He saw BEYOND the childish and selfish, the impure and greedy- yes, our modern world- to something bigger and more beautiful. You are so right, Paul- an intimacy coordinator does not belong in Middle Earth. They do not belong in our world either. Here, as there, there is still beauty and truth and goodness. Here, as there, it is still true that "there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for."
A-Non-Mouse says:
-I saw this on Daniel Greene's BookTube channel. He explains where the sources are coming from. He also explains that these reports don't necessarily mean that there will be sexual content but that it could have other meanings and that because of the insane budget, it isn't out of the picture. He isn't a Christian and doesn't have a Christian take on it, but I can see his point (highly recommend his channel to any Fantasy fans). As a Christian, I would hate for that content to come up, but I'm not one of those people who is going to judge it for not being Tolkien pure until the show comes out. There is some sexual content referenced in tales like Beren and Luthien, but it's pretty clean because of Tolkien's faith. It'll be interesting what it turns out to actually be.
Johannes Kolsky says:
-The second part is not true. The nude casting call is clearly for Cowboy Bebop. It uses the keyword JAZZ, something that's a cornerstone of the Bebop universe, while the LotR posts specify "This if for LotR".
-They had better not include sex. I for one have been looking forward to this show, and many LOTR fans probably are too, or at least hoping it isn't rotten. It would be an enormous tragedy to have amazon introduce a middle earth series that includes this horrible disgusting junk. We can only offer up our prayers to God that Amazon does not go this route.
-Achan, that's actually a pretty plausible idea since a lot of fantasy stories, understandably, just assume that monsters have clothes.
The Flaky Biscuit says:
-I thought I heard that this series would be covering events of The Second Age, which leads me to believe that they would be adapting Akallabeth, or the story of the Downfall of Numenor. And while I could possibly see a way that they could inject nudity into that story, I really, really, really hope they don't. In my opinion, putting nudity into Tolkien's stories is both unnecessary and entirely misses the point. Here's hoping it is just an unfounded rumor.
Elaine Manning says:
-We have loved the books as well as the LOTR series. As a family we watch one every Saturday night during the month of December. I am looking forward to a LOTR series, but if it is just, yet another, version of trash and filth, then we will have to skip it. What is wrong with a show that has character development and teaches right and wrong? Plenty of filth out there. Dare to be different.
Jocelyn Scott says:
-Don't give George R.R. Martin more blame than he deserves. I have read the books several times and watched all of the television series, Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones, has FAR more scenes with nudes or near-nudes than are in the books. Many of them are totally gratuitous: not in the books and not justified by the plot. Though I assume GRRM okayed what they wrote (maybe he didn't), Benioff and Weiss just seemed to grab any excuse or none to insert a scene in a brothel or other scenes with naked or nearly naked women. PLUS there were several gratuitous lengthy torture scenes. The books just said that a certain character had been tortured: they didn't describe it.


COACH: Sam Hyun, first year.
LAST SEASON: 16-3, 10-2 in league for season place. Lost to El Dorado, 12-6, in CIF Southern Section Division II second-round match.
HYUN'S QUOTE: "We are stacking doubles, obviously, because without a superstar in singles we have to stack doubles."
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Jackie Dilanchyan, junior, doubles; Alexa Gregorian, junior, singles; Kyung-Hei Seo, junior, doubles; Sarah Oh, senior, doubles; Viktoriya Shumakova, senior, doubles.
COACH: Patty Baron, first year.
LAST SEASON: 14-5, 8-2 in league for second place. Lost to Newport Harbor, 12-6, in CIF Southern Section Division II second-round match.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Maya Dunn, doubles; Roya Ghessari, singles, junior; Ester Jun, singles/doubles; Eirene Kim, singles/doubles; Abby Letts, senior, doubles; Annie Lowery, doubles; Young-In Kim, senior, doubles.
BARTON'S QUOTE: "My goal is just to hopefully have the doubles teams carry the singles. Roya [Ghessari] will hopefully carry the singles players and hopefully I can fill in from there."
COACH: Ron Zambrano, second year (12th overall).
LAST SEASON: 3-9, 2-8 in league for fifth place. Did not qualify for playoffs.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Julia Byrne, junior, doubles; Victoria McGregor, senior, doubles; Alex Milat, senior, doubles; Lara Sarkisian, senior, doubles.
ZAMBRANO'S QUOTE: "I can count on the doubles. I know they will win some matches, but what we need is to have a couple good singles players and we'll be good."
COACH: Bob Davidson, 17th year.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Danielle Fabian, sophomore, doubles; Veronika Galstyan, sophomore, singles; Emily Levin, senior, singles; Amanda Lieu, junior, doubles; Imani Story, sophomore, doubles; Mary Tailevanian, junior, doubles.
DAVIDSON'S QUOTE: "I think for us to be successful we're going to have to be balanced because we're not as strong in singles and not as strong in doubles. I think our girls are going to compete very hard and I think we will improve throughout the season."
COACH: Julie Hoppe, ninth year.
LAST SEASON: 5-11, 4-8 in league for fifth place.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Kiso Adzhemyan, senior, singles/doubles; Petra Beglarian, junior, singles; Diana Karapetyan, senior, singles/doubles; Sarah Kim, sophomore, singles/doubles; Erlinda Kirakosyan, junior, singles/doubles.
HOPPE'S QUOTE: "Teams that are strong in singles, I will stack my doubles and I will do the opposite with teams that are strong in doubles. All of our matches are going to be close with the teams we can beat. My girls always have to play their best tennis for us to win the close ones."


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Category: digital media
creatures in Cologne
Seth Giddings was invited to give a talk at Beyond Humanism: cyborgs – animals – data swarms, the Cologne Summer School in Interdisciplinary Anthropology, a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School of the Humanities, University of Cologne September 23rd-27th 2019.
Entitled 'AI and other animals: ontologies and ethologies of the cyborgian everyday', the talk addressed artificial intelligence and artificial life in videogame play; forms of nonhuman agency that have transformed everyday media culture and could be regarded as harbingers of an emergent posthuman world. It took play with synthetic animals – zoomorphic videogame characters and robot toys – as an extended case study, bringing together two broad streams of critical posthumanism: technoculture and inter-species relationality. It argued that studying playful artificial animals offers insights into established and emergent cyborgian relationships between the nonhuman and human: relationships of play and being played with, of training and being trained, nurturing and being nurtured. And that the animality of AI and A-Life entities is real and not metaphorical, opening up ontological questions of AI: what kind of speciation gives rise to particular agents, what habitats and what kinds of behaviour characterise their existence? What anthropological or ethological methods might we employ to study these behaviours? And how is the status of both 'animality' and 'intelligence' achieved from the cyborg assemblages of code, digital hardware, animated imagery, bodies and minds in play?
sethgiddings	conferences/talks, digital media	Leave a comment October 4, 2019 October 4, 2019 1 Minute
shock and rumble
The Transforming Creativity Research Group is hosting a seminar with two leading scholars in the fields of game studies, haptics and digital media. All welcome!
Shock and Rumble: environments, bodies, VR and other postdigital media
with David Parisi (College of Charleston) and Darshana Jayemanne (Abertay)
Monday 8th July 3-5pm in the Harvard Lecture Suite (Winchester School of Art)
Darshana Jayemanne: 'Expanding Mimesis: Embodying V.R.'s Uneven Developments in "Ready Player One" and "Ra-One"'.
"He's a nerd from a different century" proclaimed Time Magazine about then Oculus CEO Palmer Luckey in 2015. The magazine devoted its cover to an image of Luckey floating amniotically and strapped into the VR apparatus before an idyllic beach scene. The image clearly sets an agenda for the technology: a powerful effect of similitude (being somewhere more like a beach than has heretofore been possible), and a normative idea of which bodies and whose desires will be most appropriate for such transportation. In this paper, I will complicate this agenda of similitude with Walter Benjamin's concept of mimesis which, as Miriam Hansen has argued, is in fact comprised not only of similiarity and concentration but also play and distraction. This underwrites Benjamin's historical perspective on mass media, in which the human body is not unproblematically incorporated as in the Time cover image but through processes of 'volatilisation and recomposition'. Two films which envisage the relation between V.R. and the body – "Ready Player One" (2018) and "Ra.One" (2011) – will be read to show how V.R.'s potentials are unevenly distributed, and how culture is a formal problem for research on the form."
Darshana Jayemanne is Lecturer in Games and Arts at Abertay University and the author of Performativity in Art, Literature and Videogames (Palgrave MacMillan 2017) and a Co-Investigator in the AHRC/ESPRC-supported "Reality Remix" project on the Next Generation of Immersive Experiences. Recently, he was a jurist for the International Games Festival's Award in Narrative Excellence and has appeared on BBC Radio 3's Free Thinkers.
David Parisi: 'Before and Beyond Rumble: The Perpetually Deferred Dream of Hyperreal Haptics in Videogames'
Since its beginnings in the late 1960s, the project of bringing touch feedback to computing has aimed at the wholesale transformation of the mediated sensorium, serving as an attempt to upend vision's hegemony by building interfaces that bring the tactile body into computer-generated worlds. Such a transformation depends on not just the development and design but also the domestication of haptics technologies–the steady spread of digital touch out from research labs into the home. Thus far, in the project's fifty-year history, it has fallen far short of achieving this goal. We still seem to be waiting, perpetually, for haptics to arrive. However, while we've waited, videogame controllers, smartphones, and wearables have quietly smuggled haptics technologies into the sensory fabric of daily life, with subjects continually decoding and deciphering a range of vibratory messages. In this talk, I detail the goals imagined for haptics by first generation researchers in the late 1960s and 1970s, marketers of videogame controllers in the mid '90s, and developers of next-generation haptic gloves and bodysuits for VR today. These narratives imagine a haptic interface that would mimic audiovisual technologies in capturing and simulating the real. Against this backdrop, I show how rumble has consistently been described as an imperfect and soon-to-be-overcome instantiation of haptics that fails to deliver on the categorical promise of haptics. I suggest that, due to this perceived failure, we have downplayed rumble's significance as a technology of digital touch, overlooking the ways communicative subjects have already to adjusted themselves to a new regime of tactile semiotics.
David Parisi is an Associate Professor of Emerging Media at the College of Charleston, South Carolina. His book Archaeologies of Touch: Interfacing with Haptics from Electricity to Computing (University of Minnesota Press, 2018) investigates the past, present and possible futures of technologized touch, weaving together accounts of tactility from psychophysics, cybernetics, electrotherapy, virtual reality, cybersex, and mobile communication to provide a comprehensive overview of the ways that touch has been radically transformed by its encounters with technoscience. He is also the co-editor of the Haptic Media Studies issue of New Media & Society. His research on haptics has been featured in Game Studies, The Wall Street Journal, Vice, Playboy, Logic Magazine, Immerse, and the podcast Stroke of Genius.
Please contact Seth Giddings if you have any questions: s.giddings@soton.ac.uk
sethgiddings	conferences/talks, digital media, research events	Leave a comment June 25, 2019 June 26, 2019 3 Minutes
creative media research
Seth has an article in the launch issue of the International Journal of Creative Media Research. 'Configuring the 15 second dancers: distributed creativity in design for postdigital media' tracks the human and nonhuman mobilisation of creativity in the design and testing of an experimental smartphone game app, and the 'configuration' of its players.
He is a member of the journal's editorial board and spoke at the launch event at Bath Spa University on 26th March. The journal is open access and aims to push forward approaches to and possibilities for publishing creative media-based research.
sethgiddings	conferences/talks, digital media, publications, research events	Leave a comment March 27, 2019 1 Minute
Ludic economies
Seth Giddings and Alison Harvey (University of Leicester) co-edited a special issue of the journal Games and Culture. Published in November 2018 the issue argues that the study of digital games–their milieux of production, cultures and contexts of play, user-generated production, and spectatorship should be applied as a primary heuristic in understanding the cultural economy of neoliberal late capitalism–as well as vice versa. The articles address a range of issues relating to both mainstream profit models including digital distribution platforms and mobile games as well as peripheral game economies such as game jams and indie production (full introductory abstract here).
The special issue has its origins in the first MA Global Media Management symposium in 2015: Ludic Economies.
sethgiddings	digital media, research projects	Leave a comment February 27, 2019 1 Minute
toying with the singularity
Seth has a chapter in the newly published book The Internet of Toys: practices, affordances and the political economy of children's smart play, edited by Giovanna Mascheroni and Donell Holloway (Palgrave 2019).
Titled 'Toying with the singularity: AI, automata and imagination in play with robots and virtual pets', the chapter explores the various and layered ways in which imagination and imaginative processes intersect with the development, promotion and everyday reception of play with new playful digital technologies. It takes the author's research on the prototyping of a robotic gaming platform as a central case study.
The book is a 'thought-provoking volume' (Sonia Livingstone), and 'a landmark collection' (Nick Couldry).
sethgiddings	digital media, publications	Leave a comment February 11, 2019 1 Minute


CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A report by the National Education Association ranks Wyoming 16th in the nation in paying its teachers.
Wyoming teachers are paid an average of $58,187 a year. Only 14 states and the District of Columbia pay their teachers more.
The report also says that Wyoming has the fifth lowest student-to-instructor ratios in the United States with about 12 students per teacher in the classroom.
The report comes as teachers in several other states have gone on strike to protest low pay.
There has been no indication that Wyoming teachers have considered strike.
But Wyoming Education Association President Kathy Vetter noted that Wyoming's average teacher salary increased by just 0.1 percent last year, one of the lowest rates in the country.


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Die Liste der Nummer-eins-Hits in Südafrika basiert auf den wöchentlichen Charts des Landes, die von The Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA) herausgegeben werden.

Die Singlecharts werden seit Mitte 2021 vom spanischen Unternehmen BMAT ermittelt und basieren ausschließlich auf Streamingdaten der Anbieter Apple Music, Deezer und Spotify. Veröffentlicht werden die Top 100, für lokales Repertoire (mit der Beteiligung mindestens eines südafrikanischen Interpreten) wird zusätzlich eine eigene Top 100 erstellt.

Die Liste ist nach Jahren aufgeteilt.

Weblinks
 The Official South African Charts
 Offizielle Facebookseite

Südafrika
Nummereinshits
Nummer Eins Hits Südafrika

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Titles - Longball - Ep 7: Warrior Games (Coast Salish Version) produced by Kwassen Productions Inc., 8106CS | McIntyre Media Inc.
Host Steve Sxwithul'txw takes on the game of Longball, a game that many thought would never be played again. The rules and the only surviving bat were rediscovered in the archives of the Woodland Cultural Centre and is now enjoying a new life thanks to the kids of Six Nations. As usual, Steve learns some new skills and celebrates the rebirth of an ancient game.


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Home News Akala Performs at Toxteth Library
Akala Performs at Toxteth Library
Four blog posts so far today – Art, Dance, Poetry and now Hip Hop Shakespeare! This library tour is a great idea and rapping Shakespeare is rather cool.
MOBO winning star wows Toxteth teens at library
AWARD-winning hip-hop star Akala played a special, invitation-only evening gig for young people at Toxteth Library.
More than 120 young people from Toxteth-based music and writing groups were invited to attend the 108-year-old library, which has recently undergone a £1.3m makeover including the creation of a new exhibition and performance space.
His performance was part of a tour of libraries across the country this summer. The tour is in partnership with the national charity The Reading Agency and Akala's Hip-hop Shakespeare Company: it is part of a major drive to fire up young people about reading and transform the way they think about libraries.
Events will take place in libraries across the UK, with the final show taking place at the British Library in London in November.
The free evening shows consist of a half hour performance by Akala, accompanied by the renowned drummer Cassell 'The Beatmaker.' These are followed by a Q&A session with Akala about how his love for reading has influenced his new album DoubleThink – inspired by three works of dystopian fiction: George Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and Yevgeny Zamyatin's We.
Akala, winner of the 2006 Best Hip-Hop Artist MOBO Award, said: "I'm really excited about this library tour and hope that it will open young people's eyes and help them to see libraries as thriving hubs of creativity, rather than stuffy, solitary places. My passion for reading pervades my own creative work and new album, so I also hope that these performances will challenge preconceptions and encourage young people to develop a passion for reading and words."
Akala's tour is part of The Reading Agency's campaign to bring reading into the 21st century, and inspire more teenagers to read and get involved in creative activities. In recent months keen celebrity readers and authors, including Sophie Dahl and Michelle Gayle, have taken part in activities to bring reading and libraries to life for young people.
From among the young people who attended Carlos Eyo from Aim Higher said: "It was really good, everyone was happy and enjoying themselves. Akala was not a typical rapper talking about guns but about love, peace and reading. It was really inspiring"
Liam Walker from Head Chalk Records said: "It was an eyeopener: it made you think more about music and lyrics. It was inspirational and motivational."
Library staff were also delighted that over 16 of the books featured in the event were borrowed on the night, with some people joining the library to do so.
Ruth Harrison, project manager at The Reading Agency, said: "At The Reading Agency, we want to transform the way libraries engage with young people and broaden the definition of reading. What better way to do this than bringing an acclaimed hip-hop artist such as Akala to libraries around the country, to perform and talk about how reading has inspired his own work.
"It is fantastic that so many 21st century libraries across the UK now offer a new, lively service and we strongly believe that old fashioned attitudes to reading and libraries must change and that teens need to be engaged on their own terms, if they are to develop a lifelong passion for reading."
Councillor Wendy Simon, Cabinet Member for Culture and Tourism at Liverpool City Council, said: "Toxteth Library plays a huge role in the community as a place to learn and to enjoy cultural activities. Thanks to the revamp we can host exciting events like Akala's show and get our young people turned on to reading in a way we could have only dreamed about before. You only had to see the joy on the faces of those here last night to see what an impact a library can have if you use it creatively."
Akala
Toxteth
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I will say up front here that I am not an advocate for homeschooling. I think it deprives a person of some very necessary life experiences. What is the primary reason that parents give for homeschooling their children?
To me, the detrimental side of homeschooling is that the kid is not exposed to much of anything outside the family's worldview and corresponding attached prejudices. Then when it comes to leaving the nest some are grossly unprepared for what they will face. They know nothing of simple life building things like being teased which builds character. They know nothing about the diversity of the world outside their mother's reach. They know nothing about families who struggle from paycheck to paycheck.
I went through the first seven grades in a small Catholic school and then went into a small rural public school. The differences were starkly shocking. But even the final five years in a small rural public school did little to prepare me for the diversity of the world I would face in college. For the first time in my life, I was exposed to cultures very different from mine. I had a foreign roommate my first year who had a very different worldview than mine. I managed to cope in this new world and even thrive because of it. I wonder if a homeschooled would do the same?
RJ, as someone who is usually generally on the same page as you on many topics and even on this one, I guess I just need to insert a caution that I think WE ascribe to more frequently than not. And that is, to each their own—live and let live—try not to judge too harshly, and that most parents are trying to do the best job they can with their children, within their knowledge and their circumstances. Including your parents with paying for private schooling for your first years, which was probably a strain on their budgets, and probably the 'best' available where your family lived at the time.
I probably would have just read your message, nodded and passed on to the next item in my in-box, but for two experiences this week. First, on Monday morning my husband and I started an 8 week series of lessons for Beginning Bridge at our local library and were surprised to find in the group of 15 people who showed up a young mother and her two young (11 & 9 year old) daughters. It had not occurred to us that anyone that young would show up for the classes. But they were delightful, and seemed immensely well adjusted. At first one might wonder what kind of class this was for home schooling children. But as I sat at the table working with these three, I was impressed as I heard the mother pointing out the various areas of thinking and problem solving that were being offered through the game. The two girls were taking the experience seriously but having fun too.
The next day, my husband and I spent our day driving to Indianapolis to pick up our 4 year old grandson from his expensive private school. He was recently switched to a half day instead of full day program and our daughter and her husband are struggling to change their work schedules to accommodate his needs. For now they are each taking two afternoons off work each week and we will drive an hour from where we live to help cover the fifth day.
Our granddaughter who just turned 7 and is in first grade now is doing great at the school and did fine there in the Pre-K and Kindergarten classes. But the long full day program seems to be too much for her younger brother. Our grandchildren are both bi-racial and were adopted at birth. The school they are in is private and expensive but not fancy. It is close to their home, ranks highly accodimically, but is also very diverse, racially and economically. Those who can, pay more so that scholarships are available to more who cannot.
Our daughter and her husband are professionals with great, but sometimes stressful jobs. They are fortunate to have jobs with more flexibility than many people probably have, yet they are struggling to figure out what is best for their children and how to accomplish it. We are glad to offer what help we can but also try to respect and support their decisions. Fortunately we are retired and can make ourselves available to help. However, not living in the same town limits this quite a bit.
So my again, I guess my point is just that MOST parents are probably trying to do the best that they can within their circumstances.
P. S. One additional reason that You didn't mention, that I think causes parents today to consider or opt for home schooling is the unfortunate but real possibility of violence in schools. Yes, bad things can happen anywhere, but sadly in our country schools have become too frequent sites of shootings, and I can't imagine sending a child off and having to worry about such things. Our youngest was a junior or senior in high school when the shooting at Columbine took place. A school shooting then was unthinkable but sadly now they are Almost common.
Thanks, Jackie for your valuable insight. You give balance to my post that was probably needed. Yeah, I agree that most parents are trying to do the best they can, but the emphasis is "most". There are some who seem to have more of a personal agenda than what might be best for their kids. I certainly agree that there is probably a fear of violence in schools today. It is interesting to see that that issue did not make the top 5 reasons given for homeschooling. When I read this list it seems that that personal reasons pop to the top. My main question is, and as you know I question everything (ha), is does the lack of exposure to the world outside the home generally harm or help the homeschooled child? That was the primary reason I wrote this post.
I try not to paint with too broad a brush here at RJsCorner but sometimes it is just not narrow enough. Thanks for pointing that out to me.
RJ I noticed one part of Jackie's comments that I find very interesting. The concern about school shootings. They are very disturbing when we see them on the news but I suspect the statistical odds of it happening to any given child are exceptionally low. I would bet they are far more likely to die or be injured in a car crash. We don't stop driving cars because of this. Same thing goes for the odds of being harmed by a terrorist in the USA. You are more likely to die from falling off a ladder than to be killed by a terrorist. We don't spend billions every year on reducing ladder risk. Most of us are completely unaware of the actual odds of injury or death from any given issue. This leads to massive spending on the wrong things and completely ignoring issues that should be addressed. It also allows special interests to monopolize our thoughts for their gain. Political or financial.
Hi Fred and thanks for chiming in. Yeah, I agree that fear is the main topic for many today. When I was writing the recent blog post about free-range kids I discovered that kids today are less likely to be abducted than they were in our childhood. I don't know what the origin for all this almost paranoia of fear was? It seems that it might have been 9/11.
But I certainly understand Jackie's comments in regard to keeping your kids safe. I don't think I ever heard of a school shooting when we were kids?
My daughter homeschooled/ co oped for three years. ( A co op is a group of parents who either pay tutors or take a subject and teach to a small group). Our grandson was struggling with the current belief that all children learn to read in Kindergarten, instead of the science that most boys learn to read at seven. He was going to be tested for learning disabilities at the end of Kinder. I, a teacher of 30 years, fought hard to keep him in a school environment—fearing much what you quoted above. Daughter didn't listen (typical libertarian). She found several co ops in her area that included art, music and PE, the things he most would miss at regular school. She pulled together a curriculum and took him home.
Currently, about 10% of the children in Ann Arundel county MD homeschool/ co op. Homeschooling in MD is regulated. The parents have to present portfolios to the district every six months. The groups he associated with were multi ethnic and very engaged. He also attended plays, learned to play the piano and went into DC museums regularly.
Grandson began to read on time (at seven). He moved into sixth gr, or above reading quite quickly. He flew through novels,(Harry Potter, Junior Classics, Greek mythology). He also moved through five years of math. Yes, I tested him every step of the way.
With the addition of a baby, my daughter placed grandson back into public 4th gr school (one of the top in the area). He is now reading "book pieces" on his grade level or below.He has read four novels in the last 18 months. Last year his teacher was very open, and he taught alternate math problem solving. This year the teacher feels he needs more paper to keep him busy. He has lost lots of ground.
There is NO school choice.
What to do with him for middle school? I am glad it is her decision, not mine. We cannot afford the $17,000 private tuition at a "cheaper school". The local middle school has a 5/10 rating. There are gangs on campus. There is no gifted program, BUT there are his new friends and a great band program.
You and I rarely agree on political things. My daughter would probably agree with you most of the time. This one, though, she would ask you to really look before judging homeschooling. Like everything else, there are good and bad. She would say, as she said to me, I have to do what is best for my child. He will only have 12 years of nurturing the love of learning under her eyes.
Thanks for your story Janette. Yes, there are always cases that fall outside the norm. I didn't realize that Maryland's public school system was in such bad shape. Is it due to lack of funding or some other issue?
Ironically, Maryland's school taxes are some of the highest in the nation. The "testing" has pushed the entire nation into work so hard with the lowest students to "pass the test" that they are only used to "getting to the middle". If you are good enough to pass, there is no reason to move forward in elementary.
If you look at the best school districts in the US- they are either rural or in extremely high income areas (more parents with degrees).


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Grab The Games: The Hand of Merlin
Another day, another review for our fans, and this time, thanks to our friends at Plan Of Attack., we got our hands on a title I couldn't wait to get my hands on since it was announced. But is the game worth your attention, you may ask? Well, stick around, and you will find out. A few things about the game first
The Hand of Merlin is a turn-based rogue-lite RPG in which Arthurian legend clashes with cosmic horror. Recruit a company of up to three mortal heroes and guide them in spirit on a desperate journey from Albion to Jerusalem. Explore a richly imagined medieval setting on the brink of apocalypse. Trade with merchants, improve your heroes, and unearth ancient relics. Search for the lost fragments of your soul, scattered across the multiverse - and save as many worlds as you can.
Enjoy a compelling story inspired by Arthurian legend, the Matter of France, and the history of Al-Andalus - with an unusual twist. Make choices in interactive encounters that change every time you play—written by Jonas Kyratzes (The Talos Principle, Serious Sam 4) and Verena Kyratzes (The Lands of Dream, Serious Sam 4). To begin with, the very first aspect that impressed me is the graphics and, in general, the fantastic artwork. They are simple, but at the same time, they create a tremendous atmosphere for even the most demanding players.
The world is also really excellent, full of details, and in general, it manages to create a fantastic feeling. The music is wonderful and really well-created full of memorable songs and sounds. Another aspect worth mentioning is the story. The grand opening cinematic quickly sets a great mood to start playing and discover what this early access title offers. As far as the negative aspects are concerned, unfortunately, the game fees repetitive, especially the combat which usually moves, then attach, then move again. Another negative for me is that even when you unlock a new character, it doesn't significantly differ from the original available characters.
To sum up, even though the game initially starts really well, it loses its original glow after a few hours. Honestly, I can't recommend it full price at its current state, and hopefully, in the future, the game will get more appealing and manage to stand out of the title of the same genre.
Dionysis Spinos
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(EN) Nora Eisermann and Laura Muthesius, of , join us once again for the second installment of our 'Afternoon Tea' series. This time they have created for us a delicious, gluten-free Poppy seed, Zucchini & Lemon curd cake – a recipe born out of a passion for organic, seasonal ingredients, and the fresh flavors of spring.
(EN) This desire to experiment with different flavors, textures and styles is at the heart of Laura and Nora's cooking: "it is a creative process for us…we just love contrasts". Their aim when creating a new recipe is "not to necessarily use new ingredients, but rather try new combinations". And this they have done to perfection with this delicious cake: light yet juicy, both zesty and sweet – it's proof that opposites really do attract. Add to that the delicate crunch of poppy seeds and the tart citrusy edge of the lemons and you have the ultimate tea-time treat.
Preheat oven to 175° fan function (or 180° top/bottom heat). Line the bottom of the springform pan with parchment paper and grease and flour the sides.Grate the zucchini roughly and set aside. Separate eggs and whisk the egg whites first with half of the sugar until stiff (start adding the sugar, when the egg whites are half stiff). Then whisk the remaining sugar with the egg yolks for 1-2 minutes, and then gently fold in the beaten egg whites in the egg yolks. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and cornstarch in a separate bowl and sieve in three portions to the egg-mix. Make sure to stir in between and use a large spoon (or similar) – not a mixer! Fold in the poppy seeds and then the grated zucchini. Fill the dough into the springform pan and bake for 35 minutes at 175° fan function. Then switch off the oven, leave the cake base inside for a while, so it can cool down slowly. Take it out and leave it rest for 10 minutes before you take off the springform pan and the parchment paper. Let it cool down completely on a cooling rack. Divide the base by Tourdulich using a long (bread)knife and make a few marks at the sides, where you want to cut it. Then cut slowly along your marks.
Put the lemon juice, lemon zests, butter and sugar into a metal bowl and bring water to boil in a slightly larger pot – bring it to a light simmer. Place the metal bowl on the pot just above the simmering water. Stir the ingredients until the butter has melted. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl and fill slowly into the metal bowl while stirring with a whisk. Let it cook for 10-15 minutes and stir constantly until you get a nice creamy consistency. Let it cool down and stir once a while. Then start filling your cake. Spread half the lemon curd on the cake bottom, then put the second layer of cake on top and spread the rest of the lemon curd on it, placing the last cake piece on top. Leave the cake in the fridge for 1 hour.
Beat the heavy cream semi-stiff, then add the sugar and beat until stiff. Scrape the vanilla pod of its seeds and stir in the mascarpone. Mix the milk with the agar-agar in a small saucepan, bring to boil for one minute and then let cool for 2-3 minutes in a medium-sized bowl. Then stir in the vanilla-mascarpone. Fold in gently the whipped cream – it's easier to do it in 4-5 portions.Spread a first layer of cream at the sides and top of the cake (it works best with an angled spatula) and leave the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes, then do the finishing layer.
Cut the lemons into thin slices – between 2-5mm thick. Boil them in 750ml water for 5 minutes, then dry them with kitchen paper. Leave 250ml of the lemon water in the saucepan, add 5 tbsp sugar and bring to boil. When the syrup has a nice smooth consistency, dip every slice in it for a short while and dry again with kitchen paper. Then place the slices on a baking sheet covered with baking parchment. Bake the lemon slices at 190° for 5-10 minutes until they turn brown.
(EN) Leave them to cool and then, finally, you can decorate your cake with them. Add on some lemon zest, if you like.
Thank you Laura and Nora for this delicious zesty cake, we can't wait to have it with our tea!
Afternoon Tea is a series of four recipes – have a look at the previous one, a gluten-free Berry Goat Cheese Cheesecake. Visit all of our episodes, from sweet to savory and everything in between. For our previous culinary series, try out our Breakfast and Lunch dishes.


This is a blog for people interested in technology. I'll be posting projects and tutorials on things such as Arduino, IoT devices, Electronics, Machine Learning and whatever springs to mind.
Accurate Frequency Detection is important for many projects such as Guitar/Piano Tuners, Vibration Analyzers, Heartrate Monitors, MEMs Sensor Analysis and Laboratory Instruments.
There have been many fine examples of projects that try to solve this problem, for example: Arduino Frequency Detection by amandaghassaei and Arduino Frequency Counter Library (instructables.com).But they all use Time Domain techniques; analyzing the signal for features such as : Zero-Crossings, Peak Detection, Slope Detection etc..
Take a look at the Waveforms shown above. One of them is recorded from a Piano playing Middle-C (C4) . The other is from a Synthesizer Playing Middle-C (C4). Clearly any good Time Domain algorithm will work well with the Piano waveform. But the Synthesizer waveform will not be identifiable that way because its very strong harmonic content makes the fundamental frequency undiscernable . It looks impossible to Identify the Frequency of this signal.
Using the technique I'm going to show you it was measured to be 259.91Hz … only 0.09Hz away from an Exact Middle C Frequency of 260Hz.
I used an Arduino because it will make a great basis for building a Frequency Detector with Analogue Input such as a Guitar Tuner or Heartrate Monitor.But the principles apply to any platform.
To demonstrate the principles I'm going to use pre-recorded sound files captured as an array in a .h file. So we won't be needing any circuit for the Arduino this time.
The trick we use to identify the frequency of a noisy signal is well known in the Mathematical World of Digital Signal Processing (DSP), and is based on some pretty fancy maths. But the technique is not difficult to understand and better still it's super-easy to code. The core of it is just 3 lines of code.
What we need to do is to change the original signal into another one that highlights the periodicity of the original signal. So if it is indeed periodic, then that will stand out in the new signal and then we can measure that in the usual way using peak-detect or zero crossing detect.
What's the magic algorithm that does that?
Imagine your signal is contained in a window or buffer. Now imagine you have an exact copy of that window or buffer with a time delay.
What Autocorrelation does is to measure the correlation (or similarity) between the signal and its delayed copy each time the copy is delayed by a sample period.
See the diagram. When the signal and the copy have no delay they are very similar (i.e. highly correlated) as shown in step 1, and therefore the autocorrelation value for delay = 0 is maximum.Step 2 shows that when the copy is delayed significantly it doesn't look similar to the original in the overlapping area. Therefore the autocorrelation value for this delay is small.
Step 3 shows that when the copy is delayed even more the signal in the overlapping area is very similar to the original because the signal is periodic. Therefore the autocorrelation value for this delay shows a peak.
We can see that the distance in time between the maximum peak at the beginning and the first peak afterwards must be equal to the fundamental period of the waveform.
Now that we've emphasised the periodicity of the signal by Autocorrelation we just need to perform a Peak-Detect to measure the period.
Technically the "similarity" or correlation between the signal and its delayed copy is the sum of the product of the two signals.
The data is in the rawData array. We subtract 128 from each value because it's 8bit unsigned and we require signed values.
The sum value is the result of each autocorrelation calculation, i.e. each point of the function. In order to save memory we don't save the output to an array. We're going to work on the individual sum values to find the first peak and therefore calculate the period.
Sending the sum values out to be plotted, we get the Autocorrelation function shown below. Comparing to the original signal (also shown) it is clear that there is periodicity in the original signal and this has been clearly highlighted by the Autocorrelation function.
The C4.h File contains the buffer we're analysing.
You can fill that by reading a Block of Data from the ADC in the Arduino.
Or you can generate the data from a program such as Audacity.
The samples were taken from the extensive collection captured by the University of Iowa Electronic Music Studios.


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Art Live
The stories of creators and how they do it.
"Simply by doing" New York based filmmaker Bradley Bixler on how he makes movies.
artliveinternational Uncategorized April 12, 2018 April 12, 2018 2 Minutes
Like many up and coming filmmakers, Bradley takes his career by the reins making no stops towards building up his filmography. He's made several well received short films that have been accepted into international film festivals and TV networks like HBO and Cinemax. The 29 year old chats with us about his career and aspirations thus far.
-On his background-
"I am an independent filmmaker currently based out of New York. I was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Miami, Florida. Upon graduating high school, I began studying theater and visual arts, where I was equipped with the knowledge and experience that prepared me to apply to film school. The last couple of years, I've been attending graduate film school in New York City, where I've written and directed numerous films and documentaries."
Bradley's 2014 short film Quedate was acquired by HBO, exhibited on several of its networks including HBO Latino, HBO Go and HBO NOW. Soon after, it reached Cinemax's radar. It tells the story of an escaped Central American mother and her son illegally seeking refuge in the United States.
"What or who has inspired you?"
"I am inspired by the works of my favorite filmmakers. Their films show me what this medium and art form is a capable of. In addition, I am constantly inspired by the every day events that occur around me – the people and things I witness on a daily basis that are, far too often, neglected or dismissed as "mundane", but can, in fact, be the inspiration for a great story or character. "
Neon lights(2017)
"How did you begin making films?"
"Simply by doing. In this case, specifically writing a script, casting it and picking up a camera to shoot it. You learn by doing and I will admit that it took me several projects to finally have an idea of what it was I was trying to do. The beauty of filmmaking, in particular, is that there is no right or wrong way. You find what works for you and stick with that."
A Trip to Avalon (2015)
-No matter the scale of the production, preparation is a crucial factor and something Bradley leans heavily on.-
"I find that techniques and practices will vary from project to project, but I do find it helpful to prepare as much as possible before shooting, particularly with actors and technicians. I think it's important to always have an open dialogue with your closest collaborators. It certainly pays off for me once I'm on set working in "real world" conditions. That little bit of preparation can really help you, your crew and your talent focus on what's important when you're finally shooting."
"What are you up to now and how do you plan to move forward?"
"At the moment, I am writing and developing my first feature-length film titled Hotel Paraíso. I've been working on the script for the past two years and hope to begin raising the financing for it later this year. "
Check out Bradley's IMDB page for more of his work. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5748866/
Stay up to date with all things Art Live for more!
Published by artliveinternational
View all posts by artliveinternational
Next Post Grace and Elegance: Enter the art of Salisha Stanley.
One thought on ""Simply by doing" New York based filmmaker Bradley Bixler on how he makes movies."
Alpacíno Smith says:
good read man!


text:
Safe, Sustainable Roofing Solutions from MEDITE SMARTPLY
Max Bishop
A perhaps little anticipated knock-on effect of the on-going Covid-19 pandemic is the global return to disposable commodity items—for safety against virus transmission. For today's increasingly environmentally conscious society, it might feel like we've taken three steps forward, and suddenly, two steps back.
But our climate change goals have not gone anywhere. In June 2019, the UK became the first major economy to pass a net zero emissions law, requiring the UK to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
The effects of 2020 don't have to be permanent. The contribution of the construction industry can also be one of the most invaluable, as an industry which currently contributes up to 45% of all greenhouse gasses in the UK, on the journey to still reach net zero by 2050.
However, we also must acknowledge that it starting up again in the way that we were working prior to Covid-19 is not possible for the safety of our construction workers. Following government guidelines on safe distances between people to reduce virus spread as much as possible means that some aspects of the construction industry will be able to progress much quicker, while others may not.
Roofing, for example, is one of those that has the potential to lead the way during this time, as it takes place outdoors and is fairly secluded, with no social interaction necessary throughout.
So, with this in mind, how can the roofing industry also lead the way in meeting the sustainability goals for construction?
The first step is to continue to uphold sustainability goals in each construction project through the use of sustainable materials and practices. Timber, when properly managed, is the only 100% sustainable renewable material.
MEDITE SMARTPLY has recently developed three hero products for roofing: SMARTPLY ULTIMA OSB4, SMARTPLY MAX OSB3 and SMARTPLY MAX FR OSB3, which is flame retardant. Crucially, they are all made with FSC® certified timber from sustainably managed forests—as is standard across everything manufactured by MEDITE SMARTPLY.
These have been developed following years of research into the most demanding structural applications, including those in offsite construction, to ensure these boards are ready for anything. Manufactured with state of the art ContiRoll® technology, they are highly engineered to be smooth and consistent throughout, and crucially can be produced in largescale formats of up to 2.8m wide by 7.5m long and up to 40mm thick. This allows entire roofs or sides of buildings to be sheathed with minimal effort and time spent, making them ideal solutions for offsite construction or for ensuring a project is still completed on time with minimal time left after lockdown.
As part of the wider SMARTPLY range, they also boast a manufacturing formula with no added formaldehyde, for the safety of those who will work with the products. This, as well as their sustainability credentials are also positive factors that can contribute environmental building standard credits such as BREEAM, LEED and The WELL Standard, for any project.
Even as the construction industry evolves to adapt to a 'new normal' in the post-lockdown world, there should be no reason why we should abandon our sustainability targets. Let's do the right thing: let's lead the way in roofing, in construction, and in sustainability, with SMARTPLY roofing products.
Refurb the right way: sustainable, eco-friendly interior fit out materials from MEDITE SMARTPLY
Danielle Charlton - Technical Sales Manager
SMARTPLY PATTRESS PLUS vs a standard pattressing board – what's the difference?
Gary Carpenter - Technical Sales Manager
How to correctly store, handle and transport SMARTPLY SITEPROTECT
Clive McKenzie - Technical Sales Manager
Designing and fitting out kitchens with MEDITE SMARTPLY
Tim Price - Technical Sales Manager


text:
Pica este o tulburare psihică caracterizată prin apetit pentru substanțe care sunt în mare parte non-nutritive, cum ar fi gheața (pagofagie), păr (tricofagie), hârtie (xilofagie), gips carton sau vopsea, obiecte ascuțite (acufagie), metal (metalofagie), pietre (litofagie) sau sol (geofagie), sticlă (hialofagie), fecale (coprofagie) și cretă.

Potrivit criteriilor DSM-V (Manualul Diagnostic și Statistic al Tulburărilor Mentale, ediția a 5-a), pentru ca aceste acțiuni să fie considerate pica, acestea trebuie să persiste mai mult de o lună la o vârstă în care consumul acestor obiecte este considerat inadecvat din punct de vedere al dezvoltării, și suficient de severă pentru a justifica o atenție clinică.

Pica poate duce la intoxicare la copii, ceea ce poate duce la afectarea dezvoltării fizice și mentale. În plus, poate duce la urgențe chirurgicale datorate unei obstrucții intestinale, precum și la simptome mai subtile, cum ar fi deficiențe nutriționale și parazitoză. Pica a fost legată de alte tulburări mentale și emoționale. Stresorii cum ar fi trauma emoțională, privarea maternă, problemele familiale, neglijarea de către părinți, sarcina și o structură familială dezorganizată sunt strâns legați de pica.

Pica este cel mai frecvent observată la femeile gravide, la copiii mici și la cei cu dizabilități de dezvoltare cum ar fi autismul. Copiii care mănâncă tencuială vopsită, care conține plumb, pot suferi leziuni ale creierului din cauza otrăvirii cu plumb (saturnism). Există un risc similar de a consuma pământul din apropierea șoselelor înainte ca tetraetillead-ul provenit din benzină să fie eliminat (în unele țări) sau înainte ca oamenii să înceteze să utilizeze uleiuri contaminate (care conțin PCB toxic sau dioxină) pentru a fixa praful.

Pe lângă otrăvire, există și un risc mult mai mare de obstrucție gastro-intestinală sau rupere în stomac. Un risc al ingerării de pământ este ingestia fecalelor de animale și a paraziților care îi însoțesc. Pica poate fi, de asemenea, găsită la alte animale și se întâlnește frecvent la câini și la pisici.

Semne și simptome

Pica este consumul de substanțe fără valoare nutritivă semnificativă, cum ar fi solul, săpunul sau gheața. Subtipurile se caracterizează prin substanța consumată:

Acest model de consum ar trebui să dureze cel puțin o lună pentru a se declara diagnosticul de pica.

Complicații
Pot apărea complicații din cauza substanței consumate.

De exemplu, otrăvirea cu plumb sau saturnismul poate apărea din cauza ingerării vopselei sau a tencuielilor vopsite; bulele de păr pot provoca obstrucție intestinală, iar infecțiile Toxoplasma sau Toxocara pot să apară în urma fecalelor sau murdăriei.

Cauze
Conform DSM 5, deficiențele minerale sunt uneori asociate cu pica; cu toate acestea, anomalii biologice sunt rareori întâlnite la persoanele cu pica. Oamenii care practică forme de pica, cum ar fi geofagia, pagofagia și amilofagia, sunt mai probabil anemice, au nivel scăzut de hemoglobină în sânge, niveluri mai mici de globule roșii (hematocrit) sau cu niveluri scăzute de zinc în plasmă.

În mod specific, practicarea geofagiei este mai probabil să fie asociată cu anemie sau cu hemoglobină scăzută.

Practicarea pagogagiei și a amilofagiei au fost asociate mai mult cu anemia.

În plus, a fi copil sau femeie însărcinată care practică pica a fost asociată cu șanse mai mari de a fi anemică sau cu hemoglobină scăzută în raport cu populația generală. Mai recent, cazurile de pica au fost legate de spectrul obsesiv-compulsiv și există o mișcare pentru a considera TOC în cazul pica. Cu toate acestea, pica este în prezent recunoscută ca o tulburare mintală prin utilizarea pe scară largă a Manualului Diagnostic și Statistic al Tulburărilor Mentale (DSM-IV). Perspectivele senzoriale, fiziologice, culturale și psihosociale au fost de asemenea folosite de unii pentru a explica legătura dintre pica.

S-a avansat teoria că, uneori, condițiile de sănătate mintală precară, cum ar fi tulburarea obsesiv-compulsivă (TOC) sau schizofrenia pot provoca pica.

Cu toate acestea, pica poate fi, de asemenea, o practică culturală care nu este asociată cu o deficiență sau tulburare. Ingerarea caolinului (lut alb) în rândul femeilor afro-americane din statul american Georgia arată practica ca pe un "sindrom legat de cultură" al DSM-IV și "nu este asociat în mod selectiv cu altă psihopatologie". Ingerarea similară a caolinului  este, de asemenea, larg răspândită în anumite părți ale Africii. Astfel de practici pot avea beneficii pentru sănătate, cum ar fi capacitatea lutului alb (caolinului) de a absorbi toxinele din plante și de a proteja împotriva alcaloizilor toxici și a acizilor tanici.

Diagnostic
Nu există niciun test care să confirme pica. Cu toate acestea, deoarece pica poate să apară la persoanele care au niveluri mai scăzute de nutrienți decât cele normale și nutriție necorespunzătoare (malnutriție), furnizorul de servicii medicale trebuie să testeze nivelurile de fier și zinc din sânge. Hemoglobina poate fi, de asemenea, verificată pentru a testa anemia. Nivelul plumbului trebuie verificat întotdeauna la copiii care ar fi putut mânca vopsea sau obiecte acoperite cu praf de vopsea cu plumb. Furnizorul de îngrijire a sănătății ar trebui să testeze pentru infecție dacă persoana a mâncat sol contaminat sau deșeuri animale.

DSM 5
Diagnostic si Statistic Manual de Mental Disorders, ediția a 5-a postulează patru criterii care trebuie îndeplinite pentru ca o persoană să fie diagnosticată cu pica:

 Persoana în cauză să fi consumat alimente non-nutritive timp de cel puțin o lună.
 Aceste alimente trebuie să fie anormale pentru stadiul de dezvoltare al persoanei.
 Consumul acestor substanțe să nu fie asociat cu o practică culturală considerată normală în contextul social al individului.
 Pentru persoanele care au în prezent o afecțiune (de exemplu sarcină) sau o tulburare mintală (de exemplu tulburarea de spectru autism), acțiunea de a consuma non-alimente non-nutritive ar trebui considerată pica doar dacă este periculoasă și necesită investigație medicală suplimentară sau tratament pe lângă ceea ce primesc deja pacienții pentru starea preexistentă.

Diagnostic diferențiat
La persoanele cu autism, schizofrenie și anumite tulburări fizice (cum ar fi sindromul Kleine-Levin), se poate întâmpla să se consume substanțele non-nutritive. În astfel de cazuri, pica nu ar trebui menționată ca un diagnostic suplimentar.

Tratament
Tratamentul pentru pica poate varia în funcție de pacient și de cauza suspectată (de exemplu: copil, dizabilitate în dezvoltare, gravidă sau psihogenic) și poate accentua abordările psihosociale, de mediu și de orientare familială (deficit de fier). O abordare inițială implică adesea examinarea și, dacă este necesar, tratarea deficiențelor minerale sau a altor condiții de comorbiditate. Pentru cazurile psihogenice de pica, terapia și medicația, cum ar fi ISRS au fost folosite cu succes. Cu toate acestea, rapoarte mai vechi au avertizat împotriva utilizării medicamentelor înainte de excluderea tuturor cauzelor non psihogenice.

Privind înapoi la diferitele cauze ale cazurilor de pica legate de evaluare, clinicianul va încerca să deruleze un tratament. În primul rând, există o pica - rezultat al atenției sociale. O strategie ar putea fi folosită pentru ignorarea comportamentului persoanei sau acordarea unei atenții minime. Dacă pica lor este rezultatul obținerii unui obiect favorit, se poate folosi o strategie în care persoana are posibilitatea să primească obiectul sau activitatea fără a mânca lucruri necomestibile.

Competențele individuale de comunicare ar trebui să crească, astfel încât să poată relaționa ceea ce doresc cu o altă persoană fără a se angaja în acest comportament.

Dacă pica este o modalitate pentru o persoană de a scăpa de o activitate sau situație, motivul pentru care persoana dorește să scape de activitate trebuie examinat și persoana trebuie mutată într-o situație nouă.

Dacă pica este motivată de feedbackul senzorial, ar trebui să fie oferită o metodă alternativă de a simți acea senzație. Alte tehnici de non medicație ar putea include și alte modalități de stimulare orală, cum ar fi guma. Alimentele, cum ar fi popcorn, au fost, de asemenea, găsite de ajutor. Aceste lucruri pot fi plasate într-o cutie "Pica", care ar trebui să fie ușor accesibilă individului atunci când simt că se angajează în pica.

Tehnicile de tratament includ:
 Prezentarea în atenția pacienților de alimente sau jucării care nu au legătură cu pica
 Întărire diferențială, cu încurajare dacă nu apare pica și cu descurajare  în cazul în care se observă pica
 Cei din jurul persoanelor cu pica trebuie să îi ajute pe aceștia prin urmărirea asiduă și restricționarea manifestărilor pica și derularea unor antrenamente ale voinței celor în cauză.

În cazul animalelor
Spre deosebire de oameni, pica la câini sau pisici, poate fi un semn de anemie hemolitică mediată imun, în special atunci când este vorba de substanțe, cum ar fi consumul de mortar, de praf de beton și de nisip.

Câinii care prezintă această formă de pica ar trebui să fie testați pentru anemie cu un nivel CBC sau cel puțin hematocrit.

Deși mai multe teorii au fost propuse de experți pentru cauzele de pica la animale, nu există dovezi suficiente pentru a dovedi sau respinge niciuna dintre ele. Vezi și psihopatologia animalelor.

Referințe

Lectură suplimentară

Tulburări psihice


RCN responds to reports that overseas nurses will be excluded from the Government's visa cap.
It has been reported that the Home Office is to relax immigration rules for non-EU doctors and nurses, excluding them from the limited number of skilled workers allowed into the country.
The cap currently sets a limit of 20,700 skilled non-EU workers a year but NHS bosses have said this makes it difficult to recruit enough staff.
Stephanie Aiken, RCN Deputy Director of Nursing, said: "The Government has woken up to the vital contribution international nurses make to our health and social care sector.
"The UK has long depended on professionals from around the world to plug staff shortages at home. Patient demand is rising and we will continue to rely on this important source of expertise.


text:
Gluten Free Diets : Gluten Allergies in Children vs. Adults
By Adem Lewis / in allergies, and, celiac, child, diets, disease, Expert, free, gluten, how, the, TO, Village, wheat /
It's very profound, the difference and the
reactions between gluten on an adult versus a child. With an adult, it's more physical,
and with a child, it's more of a mental, neurological effect. For decades, parents have known that
gluten-free diets have really, significantly helped children with autism. But the medical
community hasn't caught up with that yet, so, you're not going to get a mainstream doctor
or pediatrician to suggest the diet. But, when parents go from a child who is saying
six words to two hundred within thirty-five days, to me, that was proof enough for me.
So, obviously, he's been on this diet for three years. But what happens with the brain
of a child who has autism, is when this gluten gets into the brain, (as I previously stated,
because the body doesn't have the enzyme ability to break down this gluten and it gets in the
central nervous system, the blood-brain barrier), what happens is the same receptors that receive
opiates are receiving the gluten. So, it's actually like a lock-and-key situation. So,
in essence, the child that has autism, and when they have gluten, it's basically like
you're drugging your child. You're giving them a morphine drip and sending them off
to school. Naturally, they're not going to learn very well, you know? You wouldn't, either,
if you were on morphine. So, when we remove the gluten, the cloud, the haze, is lifted.
And, initially, I just saw my son go from, you know, this child who wouldn't respond
to his name to looking me in the eyes and following simple directions. So, I don't need
medical research to verify that. I just know by looking at my son and the effects of this
diet, and the profound effect it's had, a positive effect, on my family. As far as the
adults go, as I said, it's more physical. So, they're going to have an uncomfortable
couple of days in the bathroom, and lots of pain and discomfort. And there's really not
much you can do about it, other than, again, time.
Yoga for Asthma: a 30 min Practice with Meditation
Symptômes d'allergie au gluten et lactose dans les 5 minutes après manger, sans être dans l'intestin
2 thoughts on "Gluten Free Diets : Gluten Allergies in Children vs. Adults"
ThePtree says:
This should have just been titled "Gluten Allergies in Children."
scentedflames1 says:
Adults get this way also, not just children – I have experienced it myself
You can have a gluten allergy, but celiac disease is an auto immune disease